Dark Forest Capital Management LP Increases Stock Holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP raised its holdings in AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE:AXS - Free Report) by 41.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,324 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 5,095 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP's holdings in AXIS Capital were worth $1,535,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in AXIS Capital by 48.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 371,557 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $30,070,000 after acquiring an additional 121,437 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AXIS Capital in the fourth quarter worth about $300,000. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $549,000. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,840,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 671 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. 93.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AXIS Capital

In related news, Director Charles A. Davis sold 2,139,037 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total transaction of $199,999,959.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,404,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $224,786,435.50. This trade represents a 47.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

AXIS Capital Stock Performance

Shares of AXIS Capital stock traded up $0.67 on Monday, hitting $95.55. 116,339 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 729,107. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has a 1 year low of $60.85 and a 1 year high of $101.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.51 billion, a PE ratio of 7.74, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.67.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.29. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 18.16% and a return on equity of 18.89%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AXIS Capital Holdings Limited will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. AXIS Capital's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXS has been the topic of a number of research reports. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on AXIS Capital from $120.00 to $114.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on AXIS Capital from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of AXIS Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AXIS Capital has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.75.

AXIS Capital Profile

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited, through its subsidiaries, provides various specialty insurance and reinsurance products in Bermuda, the United States, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Insurance and Reinsurance. The Insurance segment offers professional insurance products that cover directors' and officers' liability, errors and omissions, employment practices, fiduciary, crime, professional indemnity, medical malpractice, and other financial insurance related coverages for commercial enterprises, financial institutions, not-for-profit organizations, and other professional service providers; and property insurance products for commercial buildings, residential premises, construction projects, property in transit, onshore renewable energy installations, and physical damage and business interruption following an act of terrorism.